Atonement
by Usami
Summary: But the deceased can no longer rectify their mistakes. They can only hold on to their transgressions and all the pain that accompanies them, so that not even death itself can free their soul.


I never expected to ever write a _Kung Fu Panda _story. But after seeing the second movie, I've fallen into the fandom pretty hard, haha. So I decided to try my hand at writing a fic here.

Figures I'd try writing about one of the most difficult characters to portray, though...Eh. I'm worried about how well this turned out, especially towards the end, but I did my best. I hope you guys enjoy it anyway!

**Atonement**

The sounds of celebration faded behind her as the old Soothsayer slowly made her way back to the harbor. The destroyed ships were no longer visible, but still they lay just below the water's surface, for now serving as a reminder to the city until the chance came to clear them out. To many, the sunken ships signaled the end of a nightmare, the beginning of a new era.

All she saw from it was a grave.

She knew that Shen's last moments had not been peaceful. Allowing his rage and torment to consume his heart as his own weapon crushed his body, he had remained on his unfortunate path until the last.

Gripping her walking stick tighter, she bowed her head.

And she remained that way for a moment, time fading away as everything else did while she prayed, until the sound of approaching footsteps broke her concentration. The soft tread spoke of a light stature, but there was a heaviness in each step that revealed a great weight…a weight that, so far, she could not determine.

Most importantly, she noted the unfamiliarity of the steps, signaling that it was not of someone she knew.

The footsteps soon quieted behind her, disappearing into the silence. For a while nothing was said, and she patiently waited.

"Are you the Soothsayer?" the being behind her asked.

She turned then, facing an elderly red panda who stood no taller than herself. She remembered seeing him amongst the crowd, within the city's celebration for the Dragon Warrior and his friends. The green silk draped over the shoulder of his robe shimmered in the fading light.

"Indeed," she replied, taking in the figure. With his staff in hand, it was clear that he was a great master of the martial arts, shaped by experience into a wise and skilled warrior. However, it was not the warrior who approached her now.

"I am Shifu," the red panda said, bowing to her, "and I would like to express my gratitude to you for assisting…" He paused, suddenly uncertain before he cleared his throat. "For assisting the…Dragon Warrior."

'My student,' were the unspoken words the Soothsayer heard in his tone. His discomfiture did little to hide his true emotions. It was plainly obvious just how much he truly cared about his pupils, despite never being able to say so.

For a master so close to his students, how he must have felt when it seemed he had nearly lost one…And his surprise, as well as relief, to see the student alive and well. It was understandable to ask how such a feat was accomplished, and the panda's honest nature would have no choice but to include her in his explanation. Those who knew of her then would identify her, allowing this Shifu to seek her out for the part she had played in the event.

If only he knew…

"It is unnecessary," she assured him. "One might say my own involvement was a…fortunate accident."

The red panda frowned, his grip on his staff shifting as though searching for a way to answer. Finally, he said, "There are no accidents."

She gave a wry smile, knowing well that he would not believe her. And given her search for the panda along the river, it was with good reason.

"True," she agreed. "There are only…mistakes."

She turned back to the harbor, her eyes once again focusing on the sunken ship beneath the ocean's surface; though the watery depths attempted to swallow such brokenness, it remained below the fragile calm and was only concealed.

The red panda stepped up, standing beside her as he followed her gaze. "Mistakes are an inevitable part of life."

She nodded. "That is true as well. Some mistakes, however, are worse than others."

The two remained that way for a moment, letting the silence linger over them. Then Shifu cleared his throat once more. "I take it you knew him well," he observed. His words were polite, perhaps excessively so, and his rigid stance reflected the awkwardness of their unexpected conversation. Still, he spoke with no judgment, only a desire to discover what had happened.

The Soothsayer sighed. "As well as I knew his parents…and yet, it seems I still did not know him well enough."

The pain in her voice was unmistakable, even to a stranger's ears, allowing him to recognize her implication easily. "No matter how well you may have known him," he said, "you could never have controlled his actions."

"No more than you could control your students'," she responded. "But an individual is hardly in isolation. Often a person is the manifestation of the ones who shaped him."

As he closed his eyes and inhaled deeply, she was soon conscious of how sensitive a topic this was for him. They spoke a truth that he comprehended all too well, learned after suffering through a difficult trial. But her intention was not to pain him by reminding him of his past, only instead to help him understand hers.

She was beginning to see that he could identify with her more than she realized, and it was a strange thing to find such a connection with someone who was only now becoming less unknown to her.

"Do you take responsibility for what he has done?" he wondered, looking at her with eyes that held more curiosity than accusation.

Pausing momentarily, she considered how to answer. "I take responsibility for that which I am responsible…and no less."

He turned to her then, and she felt his questioning stare. But she did not elaborate, for explaining such might release some of her burden, weakening it. After all, a pain shared was a pain halved.

And it was not deserved.

For while she had no control over the path Shen chose for himself – while she was not to blame for his actions – it was her vision that triggered him to act as he had in the first place. That was where her fault lay, and after everything that happened…after all the lives lost and the pain caused because of the events _she_ foretold…such sins could never be undone. One can only make amends for them before it is too late.

And she had known, perhaps better than anyone, of the darkness that encompassed Shen. So why had she not done anything to stop him? Why had she not spoken to him, tried to help him see the errors of his ways, until it was much too late? Why had she not tried sooner, to prevent his inevitable defeat from becoming…his ultimate demise?

She had predicted his defeat by the panda warrior, true. But such a defeat did not mean it had to end in his death. Perhaps if she – or anyone – had helped Shen sooner, his death would not have been necessary. Life was far more valuable, as he could have spent the rest of it working to somehow right the wrongs he committed.

But the deceased can no longer rectify their mistakes. They can only hold on to their transgressions and all the pain that accompanies them, so that not even death itself can free their soul.

"What happens now?" the red panda beside her suddenly asked. To what he was referring though, the Soothsayer was not sure.

So she simply sighed, and gave the only answer she had. "Even I do not know. My only wish…is that he may finally find peace."

Not only Shen's death, but the deaths of so many – the pandas of the village, Shen's heartbroken parents, Master Rhino, and perhaps even those she was not aware of…the end of their lives was in some measure because of the vision she foretold, and a failure to act once she knew. Even if there was little she could have done, even if she could not control his choice or his actions, she still held some responsibility for the events that had taken place.

And as she accepted her own fault for what happened, she also prayed that it might be possible to take the burdens that tolled so heavily on Shen's soul. If it meant Shen might acquire the kind of peace that so evaded him before, then she would gladly bear the weight of Shen's sins along with her own.

The red panda cleared his throat, drawing her attention back to him. "It is possible he might," he said softly. "And then, perhaps…you may find yours as well."

She turned to him then, but he was already heading back into the city, leaving her alone with that parting statement – consoling words from an empathetic companion. Looking back to the harbor one last time, she bowed her head once more and began to take her own leave.

It could possibly be as Shifu said – as he himself has learned to do. In fact, it may well be for the best. After all, that was something Shen could never do; leave the past where it belonged. But now she realized; the _best_ way to correct the mistakes of the past was not to keep hold of them, but to release them. That may be the only means of achieving a personal harmony.

And perhaps she will be able to do so…someday.

**The End**


End file.
